Take Me Back to the Start
by ShipsInTheKnight
Summary: After Robin Hood's funeral Regina is the one who decides to stay behind and is approached by the savior herself, although there's something different: it's Emma Swan from the past. When fate offers the blonde another chance to change her decisions as the Dark One, will she make the right ones this time around? And what effect will they have on the future?
A single tear escaped watery brown eyes and trailed down the former mayor's face. The funeral had long ago ended but Regina didn't care. She knew Robin wouldn't want his death to consume her as much as it already has.

Staring down at the arrows that decorated the man's casket, Regina let out another sob. He was really gone. What she believed as her last chance of love was ripped from her, once again.

The woman's head jolted up at the crunching sound of leaves behind her. Turning toward the source, her expression fell as her eyes met the sympathetic gaze of the savior.

"What, did your mother send you to keep an eye on me?" Regina snapped. She was in no mood for visitors.

"I, um," Emma faltered, trying to find the right words to convey what she felt. "I'm sorry for what happened with Robin. We never talked much, but I liked how he made you happy."

Regina could help the small smile that graced her lips at the woman's words, remembering the good moments she shared with the archer. Her expression quickly morphed into one of deep sadness as her mind traveled back to reality.

"It's getting chilly. You sure you don't want to go home?" questioned Emma. The brunette offered her a short nod in resignation and then proceeded to follow the blonde to her Mercedes.

When they arrived at the Mills estate Emma followed Regina to the kitchen. The house was empty due to the fact Henry was comforting Rolland by showing him his comic book collection at Snow's Apartment. That and the fact everyone wanted to give the queen her space to grieve.

"You really don't have to babysit me, Swan. I can take care of myself." Regina sat down her belongings on the kitchen counter.

"I know. I'm just worried," she replied, taking a seat on one of the nearby barstools. Regina took not of the savior's sudden change of demeanor since the funeral.

Glancing into concerned hazel eyes, Regina observed, "What _are_ you doing here, Em-ma?" Now the former queen was beginning to worry for the blonde's sanity. Just an hour ago she was an emotional wreck over their departure from the Underworld, and now it seems as if all is forgotten.

Knowing better than to lie to the woman, Emma let out a sigh of defeat. "Listen, Regina. This is going to be hard for you to believe, I know that, but that doesn't make it any less true." Taking in a deep breath, she revealed, "I'm from the past."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Regina questioned, despite knowing exactly what the savior meant by her statement.

"I don't know how but the last thing I remember from my time is taking on the Dark One's power to save you. Everything else seems like a whole other life. Like I'm not in control or something," Emma attempted to explain.

"Then where is the Emma of this time?"

The blonde shook her head in response, "At my parent's apartment? I don't know. All I know is that I was sent here for a reason. I don't know why, but I think the dagger's trying to warn me of something."

"Of what? Robin's death?" Regina took a seat beside the blonde, genuinely intrigued by the woman's story. She had to be telling the truth. What could Emma possibly gain from lying to her?

"I think it's more than that. Maybe it's trying to warn me of my future–this future, where there's death and no more happy endings. I only arrive in time to see the funeral, but I've learned quite a bit since then."

Using her magic, Emma summoned Henry's story book onto the counter top. She flipped to the most recent pages in the storyline, which consisted of the heroes' journey to the Underworld to bring back Hook.

"See this?" Emma pointed to a particular image of her in Snow's Apartment announcing to the group of her plans to bring Hook back. "I would never do this, especially after he begged me to let him go back in Camelot."

"I understand that you think you wouldn't choose that path, but you never know what your reaction will be when the love of your life is ripped from you." Regina recalled in her mind the events leading up to Daniel's death.

Turning closer to the other woman, as to further convey her point, Emma announced, "This isn't _my_ life." Regina snorted at the comment.

"The number of times that statement has left my lips," the former Evil Queen shook her head. "You can't change the past, Emma. None of us can."

"But what if _we_ could?" The blonde exclaimed. "I'm from the past so I should be able to travel back somehow, and I could choose a different path. I will choose to honor Hook's wishes to die without turning him into a Dark One, and then–"

"And then what? You'll come back to Storybrooke and everything will be fine? It's not that simple, Emma. I wish it were, but it's not."

"I'm not going to become this shell of a person. This isn't the savior this town deserves. I will fix this, Regina. I promise." And with her last statement, Emma disappeared into a cloud of white smoke. And with her final statement of promise, Regina was filled with the most dangerous weapon of them all: hope.

* * *

Much to Regina's astonishment Emma is able to change the events of the future, giving Robin Hood back his life among many others. Although everyone has forgotten the alternate timeline, Emma had managed to preserve her own memories and is now free of the Dark One curse, having found a way to rid the world of the dark magic forever without resorting to death.

Emma's VW bug rolled to a stop outside the mayoral mansion and the blonde let out a deep breath. She knew what she had to do.

Before leaving the alternate future timeline, Emma made a promise to herself alongside hers to Regina. She decided that if she were to fix the timeline that she would finally confess her feelings for the mayor.

So now she had to pay up. She owed it to herself, didn't she? Emma deserves her happy ending as much as the rest of them and she's not going to stop until she gets it.

The blonde hears the clanking sound of Regina's heels through the front door to the home. She had been to preoccupied trying to muster up enough courage that she had forgotten what was at stake. If she told Regina the truth, what could that mean for their friendship? What if she didn't feel the same way? What if she did?

The savior began to panic.

"Emma? Emma," Regina calmed as she placed her hands on either side of the blonde's arms. "Is everything alright?"

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Emma choked out, "I-I wanted to tell you something. No! I have to tell you something." The mayor began feeling concerned, having taken in the blonde's unusually pale completion.

"What is it?"

Glancing away from the other woman, Emma mumbled out, "I sorta…kinda…I, um–"

Regina quirked a brow at the savior's inability to form words, finding it somewhat amusing to see the woman so flustered.

"I like you but I don't want it to ruin our friendship," Emma spat out in rushed words and one giant breath.

Regina let out a small chuckle at the admission. "I like you, too, Emma. Why would you think it would ruin our friendship? Aren't friends _supposed_ to like one another?"

"No," Emma exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air out of frustration. "I like you as a friend, but it's more than that." Letting out a deep breath, the savior contemplated her next words. "I'm in love with you."

Brown eyes met hazel and instantly began swelling with tears. "Y-you mean that?" Regina wasn't completely sure she had heard the blonde correctly.

"I do." _Heck, it's all or nothing, Swan._

Regina's expression broke out into a wide, toothy smile as tears began trailing down her cheeks.

"I love you, too."


End file.
